


My Past, My Present, My Future

by dvg



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Christmas, Engagement, M/M, Reunions, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:20:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28216092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dvg/pseuds/dvg
Summary: Fears get the best of all of us.Especially Aaron.
Relationships: Aaron Dingle/Robert Sugden
Comments: 11
Kudos: 146





	My Past, My Present, My Future

It was around the moment that Robert pulled into the drive that his nerves kicked in. He forced himself to shrug them off as he cut off the engine.

He'd been trying to play it cool all day. He'd been trying not to think about tonight so Aaron would be completely taken by surprise when they walked inside. But as the day went on, he started to run over his plans in his head to make sure he hadn't missed anything, but now that the moment was here he was nervous and rethinking every little detail.

The candles, the wine, the words scrawled on a piece of paper folded in his jacket pocket, and the little black box that felt like it was burning a hole in his pants pocket.

With Christmas right around the corner, it seemed like the perfect time to begin the next chapter of their lives together. They deserved it, didn't they? he thought. After all the hell they'd been through, starting over just before the beginning of a new year seemed fitting somehow.

A fresh start. A new beginning. A future together. That's what they had fought so hard for, hadn't they? But it didn't stop the nerves, or the doubts from creeping in that maybe Aaron wasn't ready for this.

God, what if Aaron says no? 

And that, Robert, admitted to himself, was what scared him the most.

"Are we just going to sit in here and freeze to death or..." Aaron's voice pulled Robert from his thoughts and had him turning his head to face him. He looked damn near perfect sitting there in the passenger seat in a pair of faded jeans and a simple white V-neck and his black hoodie.

"Rob?"

"Huh? What did you say?"

Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Everything alright? You seem distracted tonight."

"It's been a long day, that's all." 

When Aaron leaned across the car to kiss him, Robert reached for the door handle. _If he puts his mouth on me here, we are not going to leave this car._ On any other night, that would suit him just fine. But not tonight.

"Don't try and distract me," Robert said as he pushed open the door.

Aaron laughed. "Fine. Have it your way. If you don't want me to kiss you, I'll just save it for someone who does."

"Like hell you will." Robert moved so fast that Aaron barely had time to blink. He grabbed Aaron by the strings of his hoody and yanked him across the console. As Robert crushed his mouth over the top of Aaron's, Aaron's hands came up and cupped either side of his face, and all of Robert's plans just flew right out of his head.

Aaron's tongue in his mouth had Robert's temperature spiking in an instant, but it was the weight of the object in his pocket that finally had Robert pushing Aaron away.

When Aaron's eyes found his, they were dark with desire and wild with a need Robert planned to fulfill...later. 

More than he wanted his next breath, Robert wanted to take Aaron inside the house they had called home for the past six months so he could finally say all the things he'd been waiting to say and make Aaron his again in every way.

"We need to get inside," Robert said.

"Why are you in such a hurry to get inside?"

"I'm not, it's just..." Robert stammered. 

Aaron knew something had changed between them, he could see it in Robert's eyes every time Robert looked at him. It was almost like Robert was afraid he was going to disappear. But it wasn't just that. Robert had been moody and distant, and after what they'd been through, that shit just didn't fly with him. He needed to know what was on Robert's mind. 

As Aaron pushed down on the handle, he looked back at Robert. "You know I love you, right? That's never changed."

Robert reached over and covered Aaron's hand with his own. He knew he was probably acting strange and worrying Aaron, when that was the last thing he wanted to do. "It's never changed for me either."

"If something is going on you can tell me," Aaron said. "We said no more secrets."

"I'm not keeping anything from you, I promise," Robert said as he stepped out of the car.

Aaron got out of the car and shut the door behind him. The look he sent Robert's way was nothing new. It was familiar, it let Robert know he wasn't going anywhere.

"You have to stop looking at me like that," Robert said when Aaron walked around the hood of the car and stopped right beside him.

Aaron knew exactly how he was looking at Robert. He couldn't help it. "Why? Don't you like the way I'm looking at you? You've never complained before."

"I love the way you look at me," Robert admitted.

"Then what's the problem?"

"There is no problem," Robert said as he held his hand out for Aaron to take. "But there's something inside I want to show you."

Robert reminded himself to breathe as he stopped at their front door and pulled his keys from his pocket. Aaron was standing so close behind him that Robert could feel his breath on the back of his neck, and he knew Aaron had no idea what he had planned or what was waiting on the other side of the door.

Aaron's hands on his waist had Robert shaking a little as he inserted the key and unlocked the door. He could feel Aaron's arousal against him, and it was taking all of Robert's control not to give in and slam Aaron against the wall and ask him what he'd been planning to for weeks later.

As he pushed open the door, Robert stepped aside, and let Aaron walk through first. Robert shut the door and followed, and as he got down the hall and into the living room, Robert took in an unsteady breath.

As Robert's eyes adjusted to the lit candles all around the living room floor, across the kitchen island, and by the door that led to the back garden, he finally noticed that Aaron had stopped in the middle of the room and was silent.

 _Okay, this is it,_ Robert thought, as he slipped his hand into the pocket of his grey slacks and felt around for the box. Once his fingers were wrapped around it, he took the final steps so he could reach out and touch Aaron's arm.

Finally, Aaron turned around. 

He looked confused, was Robert's first thought as he swallowed, knowing it was now or never, and lowered to one knee, determined to do this right. Determined to make it perfect after everything they'd been through, not just the past two years but all the challenges they'd faced throughout their relationship. It had never been easy. Messed up forever, that still described them perfectly.

God, it had been a year. Between his release from prison, the two of them skating around each other for weeks before finally admitting they still loved each other, working through the guilt, the pain, the anger. There had been a lot of shouting matches, but a lot of makeups, too. In the end, they both knew they couldn't live without the other and made a commitment to each other that this time, this time would be different.

As soon as his knee touched the hardwood and his eyes found Aaron's, Robert saw his feet falter. Aaron's crooked grin faded, then he blinked a couple of times, not believing what he was seeing.

Robert turned the box over in his pocket before he cleared his throat. "Aaron," he said softly.

When Aaron said nothing in response, letting his eyes scan around the room again before coming back to Robert even more confused, Robert started again.

"Aaron..." When his voice trembled, Robert cleared his throat. He'd never had so much trouble getting words out of his mouth in his life. It wasn't like him at all. "Tonight when we were walking up the driveway, it brought me back to the first time we saw this place, how we both knew this is where we wanted to start over. It's all I've been able to think about."

"Rob, I----"

"Please," Robert said. "Let me get this out or I'm going to forget to say something important. A year ago when I came back, I never could have imagined that this is where I would be. Back with you. Where I belong." Robert reached out to lace their fingers together. "I used to have a plan for my life, a plan that completely changed when I first met you. Then I got sent down and I had to learn to live in....Let's be honest if was like living in hell, something I never want to experience again."

Aaron looked around the room again. But when Robert gently squeezed his fingers, Aaron brought his focus back to him.

"We both know I screwed up, but every day since we got back together I've tried really hard to make it up to you, to try and fix what I'd broken. We lost so much time, and that's all on me, but I'm going to spend the rest of my life making it right." Robert drew Aaron's hand up to his lips and shut his eyes as he kissed it. "I love you. I never want to be without you again."

Robert took the small black box out of his pocket, flipped it open, and looked up to lock eyes with Aaron. "I know I have no right to ask you this after I was the one that ended our marriage the last time, but I swear to you this time it's forever. Aaron Dingle, will you marry me?"

Robert's heart was thumping loudly as he watched Aaron kneel down across from him. Now face to face, Robert could see Aaron's features in the flickering light of the candles, and they looked....strained. And when a tear slipped free from his eyes, Aaron finally spoke.

"No."

Robert felt his heart stop.

And then it shattered into a million pieces as his foggy brain finally registered Aaron's answer.

_No._

Aaron had said no.

* * *

_You need to say something,_ Aaron told himself as silence engulfed the room.

One look at Robert's collapsed shoulders and bent head as he twisted the small black box in his hands had Aaron's eyes blurring all over again.

He couldn't believe what had just happened. He was still trying to wrap his head around it even as he saw the invisible wall that is laid brick by brick between the two of them with every second he let slip by without opening his mouth to speak.

_You need to fucking say something._

"Rob---"

Robert flinched. Aaron tried to reach out to him, thinking if he could just touch Robert it would make it easier somehow to explain how he was feeling even though he had no fucking clue why _no_ had come out of his mouth. But before Aaron could try and touch him, Robert shot up to his feet.

Robert turned around, unable to look at the man who had just said destroyed his world with one word as he stared out the window. Beyond the darkness, he could make out the wrap-around deck, the bbq, the ridiculously ugly patio furniture that Aaron had convinced him to buy.

 _Get up,_ Aaron ordered himself. _If you don't get up, he's going to leave before you have a chance to---_ But before he could move, Robert had turned and was _fuck,_ heading for the front door.

Aaron scrambled to his feet and went after him, and just as Robert reached for the door, Aaron managed to get a hand around his arm. "Rob, wait. I---"

Robert spun on him, and what Aaron saw had his words coming to an abrupt halt. Robert's eyes were full of tears, glistening in the candlelight, but he was fighting them.

Aaron swallowed as he tried to think of what he could say to fix this, but nothing came until Robert jerked his arm away from him. "Rob--"

"Don't." The word was spoken so quietly that Aaron almost didn't hear him. 

It was quiet. And final.

"But I---"

"I said _don't._ " Robert couldn't look at him. "You don't need to explain. I asked you a question," he said, and when his eyes came back to Aaron's, they were distant. "And you gave me an answer. Not the answer I wanted, but should I really be surprised?"

Aaron shook his head and reached for him again, but Robert took a step back. "It's just....God, give me a second to process. This is...was..."

"A mistake."

Aaron's mouth parted at the frigid tone of Robert's voice, and he hated that he'd been the one to put it there. Because no matter what Robert was saying now, this was no mistake. He had carefully planned this out, and then he had come along and stomped all over it.

The candles.

The speech.

The ring.

Robert, the man who had said a few weeks ago that they didn't need a ring or a piece of paper to show their love and commitment to each other, that what they had right now in that moment was enough.

What had changed?

Aaron was desperately trying to think of what he could say to get Robert to understand, but it was difficult when this had never even crossed his mind. When Robert had come back into his life, marriage had been the last thing on his mind. They had tried that not once, but twice. And they'd both failed at it miserably both times.

Everything that had happened this past week still weighed heavily on his mind, and now the magnitude of what just happened...what was _still_ happening as Robert seemed to be disconnecting from him with every second that passed.

God, it was all too much.

"Rob, you've got to let me--"

"What, Aaron?" Robert asked. "I've got to let you what? Explain? No, thanks. I don't need you to explain the word _no_ to me. I'm a pretty smart guy." He paused. "Most of the time."

As Robert turned away from him again, Aaron lunged for him and yanked him back around. He couldn't let Robert leave, not like this.

"Let me go."

Aaron's fingers clenched in the material of Robert's jacket, but Robert was done listening. Aaron could tell by the detachment of his expression.

"Let me go." Robert brought a hand up to the fistful of leather Aaron had and pulled it free, then he released him as though Aaron's skin had burned him.

Without another word, Robert opened the door. With every step he took, the distance between them only got wider, until Aaron felt as if he'd never be able to reach him again.

When the door opened, Aaron called out his name a final time, but he got no response.

Unless you counted the sound of the door slamming behind him as he left.

* * *

Robert wasn't sure how he ended up by the lake.

He stared out into the vast darkness, an empty bottle of booze half-buried in the sand beside him, tiny snowflakes were just starting to fall from the sky.

He felt numb. Completely and utterly numb from the inside out. 

Aaron had said no.

Robert shut his eyes as he replayed the scene in his head, and still, it didn't make any sense. How had tonight gone so horribly wrong? How had he totally misread how Aaron felt about him? About them?

_About us._

As he tried to figure out what this meant for them, Robert's chest tightened, the pain and the heartbreak of the night finally hit him. As the frigid temperature hurt his throat, he coughed and squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't figure out if he was trying to hold in a cry or a shout as his body started to shake and the tears he'd been keeping inside finally fell free.

Robert felt his phone vibrate again for what seemed like the millionth time. He thought about turning it off the first few times Aaron tried to call, but then he'd shoved it in his pocket and had forgotten it was even there. Whoever was trying to reach him just wasn't letting up, so he took it out, determined to turn the damn thing off, but when he saw his sister's name flash across the screen, he put the phone to his ear.

"Vi...Vic." When his voice cracked, he cleared his throat and tried again. "Hi Vic."

"Rob, thank God you answered."

"Is everything alright?" 

"Everything is fine," Vic said, then she paused. "Are you okay?"

_No, not really. Aaron just tore my heart out and I'm just trying to figure out how to function without it._

"I just got off the phone with Aaron," Vic said, and it finally clicked why she was calling him so late. "He sounded strange...upset. Is everything okay between you two?"

Robert shut his eyes and tipped his head up to the night sky, and as he did, a tiny snowflake hit his forehead. "I don't want to talk about it, Vic. Not right now."

There was silence on the other end of the line until he heard Vic whisper, "I just need to know that you're okay. I'm worried about you. You sound just as upset as he is."

"Vic, leave it. I mean it."

"I don't know what's going on between the two of you, but I don't want you to be alone tonight. I won't ask any more questions, I promise. Just please come stay with me for the night. By the morning you'll feel better."

"Okay." Robert doubted that he would feel any better by morning, but he was too tired to argue. He ran a hand over his face and stood up. "I'll be there soon."

"Good, and Rob?"

"Yeah?"

"Whatever it is, you two will find a way to work it out, you always do."

As he walked back to his car, he wasn't sure how they were going to work this out when he couldn't stop hearing the word _no._

* * *

Aaron couldn't stop staring at his phone. He had tried to call Robert multiple times, but every time he did it just went straight to voicemail.

There was still no return call or text. Not that Aaron had expected one.

He still couldn't believe what had happened tonight. The last thing he expected to find when they'd gone back home after a night out was candles lit around the room and Robert down on one knee. 

_And you told him no._

How was he ever going to explain where his head was at to Robert when he didn't understand himself? Would he even get a chance to? The look on his face when he'd stormed out didn't leave Aaron with much hope. Anger, hurt, and betrayal had been written all over his face. Robert had looked at him like he was a stranger.

Aaron looked at his phone again, and when he saw the blank screen, he shook his head and finally got to his feet. _He's not going to call you, you idiot. He doesn't even want to look at you right now._

Shoving off the wall he'd been perched against for the last hour, he flicked the light switch and winced as his eyes adjusted to the bright glare. He blew out the candles one by one then opened the french doors that led to the backyard to let the smoke escape. As it swirled out into the night, ghosts from their past continued to haunt him.

He could still see the two of them that first night after they'd gotten the keys, and ever since then, all the days and nights in between. Aaron shoved a hand through his hair as he closed the doors and turned his back on those thoughts.

God, the place felt empty without him, Aaron thought.

When he couldn't stand the silence anymore, he pulled out his phone and called the only person that knew Robert better than he did, and could maybe understand where he was coming from.

He let out a sigh of relief when she answered. "Vic? Do you have a minute to talk?

After hanging up with Vic twenty minutes later, Aaron contemplated going back down to the kitchen for a shot of whiskey but decided that alcohol was not going to fix what he'd broken. He needed his head to be clear when - if - Robert ever came home.

Vic had texted him twenty minutes ago that Robert was on his way to her place and was spending the night. Robert hadn't divulged what had happened tonight any more than he had, so she was pretty much in the dark. All she knew was that they were both hurting and needed some time apart.

Instead, Aaron grabbed a red shirt and grey joggers from Robert's side of the closet, breathed in Robert's scent, and shut his eyes. 

"I'm sorry," he whispered as a tear slid down his cheek.

* * *

The next morning, Robert stared down at the hands he couldn't stop twisting together, ignoring the coffee Victoria had just placed in front of him.

He hadn't slept, and his eyes were bloodshot. He was miserable and just wanted to be left alone, but he knew that as long as he continued to skirt around what was wrong, Vic wouldn't let him alone.

"Rob," Vic said, putting her hand on top of his trying to get his attention. "You know I love you, but you've barely said a word since last night. What happened?"

Robert just stared into his coffee cup. "I asked Aaron to marry me." When Victoria's facial expression didn't change, he raised an eyebrow. "You don't seem surprised."

"You've been back together for a while now, you bought a new house. And no offense but you have been married twice before. I knew it was only a matter of time. But that doesn't explain your sour mood, unless..."

"He said no." Robert dropped his head into his hands.

"That doesn't make any sense," Victoria said, shaking her head. "He loves you. If you could have seen the way he moped around when you were gone. I just...why did he say no?"

Robert gripped his hair in his hands as hard as he could, hoping the pain would somehow stop the pain in his heart, but it didn't. It still felt like his heart was being ripped from his chest. 

"I don't know," he said finally. "I ran out before he could have a chance to tell me why. It doesn't matter why he said no. The outcome is the same."

****

Aaron settled into the chair by the window in their bedroom and looked out at the snow falling down rapidly. He scooted down in the chair and rested his head against the soft cushion. As he slowly started to drift off, he wondered if the hollow feeling in his chest would ever go away.

 _Your own fault,_ his mind taunted him. 

They needed to talk. He needed to make Robert understand why he said no when he knew deep down he wanted to say yes.

Why the hell had he said no? The candles, the words, the ring...it had been perfect. And he had ruined it.

And why he said no to Robert's proposal finally became clear.

He was scared. Scared of having everything, then in the blink of an eye it all being taken away from him. Just like before.

He didn't want to fail Robert again. He didn't want to lose him. God, what had he done? Had he lost Robert for good this time?

He couldn't even think about it, it made his chest hurt.

Because despite what Robert had said after they got back together, he was as much to blame for the dissolution of their marriage as Robert had been. He should have fought harder, he should have gone down to the Isle of Wright and stayed there until Robert finally talked to him, despite Robert's refusal to see him. He had been a mess, an absolute mess. But Robert was back now...they were together and happy. This living without you shit just wasn't going to fly with him.

He knew what he had to do to make things right. He just hoped Robert gave him the chance to try. 

* * *

"Rob?"

Robert heard Vic say his name but he didn't respond, as his brain was still trying to make sense of what had happened the night before.

"Is it over between you and Aaron?"

And that snapped Robert back to reality. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that he didn't want it to be over, that his feelings for Aaron hadn't changed just because Aaron didn't want to get married. But where the two of them stood, he had no fucking clue.

Robert shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "No. I just have a find a way to get over this, to accept that he may never want to get married again. Can't really blame him, can I? I'm the reason we're divorced in the first place."

"He forgave you a long time ago," Victoria said. "But I can understand where he's coming from. He didn't deal with your divorce all that well. I think a part of him is worried that the same thing will happen again."

He needed to find Aaron, he needed to tell him that they were okay, that he meant what they said when they first got back together, that he didn't need a piece of paper to know they belonged to each other. There was so much he needed to say, things that he couldn't say last night when the rejection had been so raw.

They belonged together, not apart, he knew that and he needed Aaron to know that nothing had changed for him.

Everything else faded into the background, the only thing he could think about was getting to Aaron before it was too late.

****

When Aaron opened up his eyes, he had a stiff neck and a sore back. It wasn't until he pushed himself out of the chair that his eyes landed on the man sitting on the edge of the bed. 

_Robert._

He wondered how long Robert had been sitting there, and with more patience than he possessed, Aaron waited for Robert to look his way. When he finally did, Aaron saw bloodshot eyes and weary features that he knew matched his own. 

"I didn't hear you come in," Aaron said.

Robert chewed on his bottom lip. "Got here about half an hour ago. You were sleeping, I didn't want to wake you. You look awful by the way."

Aaron wasn't offended; he knew he was a mess, he just didn't care. What he did care about was the man in front of him who could barely look him in the eye. 

"Tell me you don't hate me," Aaron said, as a new onslaught of emotions took over. Happiness. Desire. Fear. And love at the center of it all. "Tell me I didn't break this. Break us."

Robert tried to calm his erratic heartbeat as he reached out and touched the stubble on Aaron's jaw. As soon as his fingers touched Aaron's skin, Robert shut his eyes. "I could never hate you, not ever," Robert said softly. Relieved, Aaron smiled. "But I need some sort of explanation here. Last night..."

His stomach in knots, Aaron willed himself to breathe. As the thought _what if I can't fix this?_ he closed his eyes to try to stop the room from spinning. What had he done to them? How had he let his fear ruin this? 

"Was amazing, you're amazing," Aaron said, already knowing that words weren't enough. "But me, I messed it all up, and I'm so sorry."

"I don't want an apology," Robert said. "I just want to know why."

Aaron knew he needed to get this out before he hurt Robert any more than he had already. "I didn't mean to say no, you just caught me off guard. It was the last thing I was expecting." He reached for Robert's chin then, forcing Robert to look at him. "But I need you to know that last night when you asked me to marry you, I didn't mean what I said. It was just a knee-jerk reaction from fear."

"What are you scared of?"

It was a hard thing to confess that he was terrified of screwing up the only thing in his life that mattered. He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated at his inability to voice how he was feeling when it didn't even make any fucking sense to him. "Scared of losing you again. Scared that we'll screw this up. We said it was forever last time and look what happened. Look at what we lost."

"What happened was my fault, not yours. And I swear to you, nothing like that is going to ever happen again. That's why I wanted to do this, I wanted to surprise you, to let you know in the only way I know how I feel about you, how I feel about _us."_

Aaron linked his arms around Robert's neck and let his lips brush Robert's. "When you walked out, I had to relive what it was like that year without you and I realized something. The only thing I'm afraid of, really fucking afraid of, is losing you again."

Robert gave him an apologetic look. "You're not going to lose me. I won't let that happen. Not this time."

"Am I too late?"

At Robert's confused expression, Aaron reached into his pocket and put the black box in front of him. It was the same box Robert had proposed to him with the night before. He'd left it on the entryway table before he had stormed out.

As Robert looked down at it, Aaron saw a grin split his lips. "Are you asking me if....?"

"I'm asking you to marry me," Aaron said. His heart was pounding so hard as he sat there waiting for Robert to say something, anything. 

Disbelief clouded Robert's eyes as he picked up the box and opened it. 

"Say something," Aaron said. "You're killing me here."

Robert got to his feet. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes." Aaron stood up, then got down on one knee, determined to do this right, and as he stared up at Robert, the man he knew he loved more than anyone else, he knew he would wait forever to make this man his again.

Robert looked like he was still trying to process what had just happened, but as Aaron reached up for his hand, Robert entwined their fingers.

"I love you," Aaron said, as he brought Robert's fingers to his lips and kissed his knuckles. "So much that it scares me and makes me say stupid things." Aaron closed his eyes and squeezed Robert's hand, afraid of him slipping away again. "When you asked me to marry you, to say I reacted badly would be an understatement. I let fear get the better of me, and it almost cost me the most important thing in my life. You." Aaron raised his head, and his breath caught, as if often did when his eyes connected with the green ones now focused solely on him. "I wish I could take back what I said to you last night, but I can't. I can't change it, and I hate that I hurt you." Aaron stroked his fingers down Robert's jaw. "We've already waited too long. I want you, _all of you_. I spent a year living my life without you in it, and I don't want to ever go through that again. You're everything to me, Rob. You have my heart, you always have, and I want to be yours in every way."

It was stupid to be so emotional, but here, in the privacy of their bedroom, Aaron's words and what they meant had Robert fighting tears. "Yes," Robert said, clearing his throat. "Yes, of course I'll marry you."

Aaron blinked a couple of times before his lips curved. "Yeah?"

Robert leaned down to cup Aaron's face in his hands, then kissed him. "Yes." Robert laughed this time when he said it. 

"I'm sorry for what I said last night," Aaron said, and when Robert shook his head, Aaron pressed a finger to his lips. "No, I need you to hear this. I need you to look at me and listen to me,"

"Okay."

Aaron spun him around, yanked him into a hot and possessive kiss. "I need you. I'm so sorry I hurt you." Aaron's eyes were full of guilt and regret. "What I said last night...God, I was stupid. It put distance between us---"

"Aaron," Robert said and put a finger to his lips. "You weren't being stupid, you were being honest, and I'm fine. _We're fine._ Now would you let me put this ring on your finger so we can make it official?"

The silver band hit the light as Robert slipped the ring onto Aaron's finger.

Aaron looked down at their joined hands.

They locked eyes.

"I love you," Aaron said, meaning it now more than ever. His eyes blurred, but he blinked them clear. 

"I love you too." Robert smiled, as he envisioned how their life would be - and could be - now that his ring was back on Aaron's finger where it belonged. "That day I came back to the village, and I saw you for the first time, I knew I still wanted you. Then Rebecca died and I got custody of Seb and you started coming around every day and I started to see what our life would have been like if I hadn't gone to prison. I'm so sorry."

"Hey," Aaron said, touching his cheek. "That's all in the past now. We're here now. We're together. It's you and me. It always has been and it always will be."

"You're such a sap," Robert teased.

"Yet you love me anyway."

Yes, he did, more than anything, Robert thought as they fell to the bed and Robert covered Aaron's body with his own. "Say it again." He needed to hear it again, he needed to know this wasn't a dream.

"Yes," Aaron whispered as he took Robert's hand and pressed it to his heart. "I'll marry you." 


End file.
